A pair of past champions meet in the
third round as Philip Shea falls to Richard Beyma.

Ted Lange from Germany meets Canadian
Rejean Tremblay in the Preliminaries.

Pre-Con Success Continues ...

The second year as a pre-con remained successful in improving
attendance over that of recent years with 32 players vying for
four golden tickets to Single Elimination glory. The final four
included former champs Ty Hansen, Richard Beyma, Andrew Murphy,
and one newcomer, Jeff Mathis.

The third round found eight undefeated players vying for the
right to advance. Andrew Murphy and Kevin Keller played to a
virtual tie in Victory Territories, but Andrew advanced with
more increase in income, leaving Kevin with 5th place laurels.
Meanwhile, Jeff Mathis took out 2001 champ Patrick Mirk, while
defending champ Richard Beyma ended two-time champ Philip Shea's
attempt for a third title. Ty Hansen defeated Henry Russell for
the last seat in the semis.

Beyma defeated Murphy's Allies with a bid of 6 in the first
semi-final. Richard captured Moscow with an infantry from Archangel
and the Luftwaffe, and it proved decisive. Meanwhile, Hansen's
Axis defeated Mathis with a bid of 2 in the other semi.

In the Final, Beyma gave Hansen a bid of 6 to play the Allies.
On Turn 1 Germany bought a carrier and Japan a factory. The British
counterattacked in Egypt and the Americans targetted the Japanese
fleet after Pearl Harbor, building two carriers.

On Turn 2 Germany attacked on the Eastern Front at Archangel
and Ukraine. Britain captured Norway and also attacked the German
Mediterrean Fleet with three fighters and a bomber. Japan attacked
Sinkiang, Manchuria, and Buratia. Attrition favored the Allies
as Japan lost four infantry in the attack on Sinkiang. The USA
built three fighters and a transport.

Russia bought six infantry, two tanks, and an artillery on
Turn 3. Germany responded with four tanks and eight infantry
while attacking Norway, France, Ukraine, and Archangel. Britain
built two transports, two tanks, and four infantry. Japan built
a fighter, a submarine, a tank, and four infantry and attacked
Novosibirsk and Yakut. The USA built a carrier, a submarine,
and two transports while taking the Solomon Islands.

On Turn 4 Russia built a tank and seven infantry while attacking
Ukraine and Novosibirsk. Germany built two tanks and seven infantry,
while attacking Norway. The British built a fighter, a transport,
two tanks, an artillery, and three infantry, but were repulsed
in their attack on Norway. Japan built a carrier, three tanks,
and three infantry to attack Novosibirsk and Khazak. USA built
two transports, a fighter, and four infantry to attack Wake Island.

Turn 5 saw Russia buy two tanks, and four infantry to attack
the Ukraine and Karelia. Germany bought three tanks, two artillery,
and five infantry to attack the Russians in Karelia, inflicting
heavy Russian losses. The British attacked Karelia. Japan attacked
the US fleet and retreats with heavy losses, a turning point
in the game. The US now liberates the Philippines and sinks the
Japanese Navy in home waters.

The Germans attack in the Norwegian Sea on Turn 6. The British
attack and take Norway and Indochina. Japan retakes Indochina,
but, the US takes Borneo and attacks and defeats the hastily
rebuilt Japanese Navy. The game ends with an Allied victory of
13 victory territories and income of 111.

Overall, the Axis won 57% of the games. However, as the tournament
progressed, those players accepting the Allies received higher
bids, tending to balance play in the highly competitive third
round. The average bid for the allies was 4.39. Players received
28 bids to play the Allies, with just one receiving a bid to
play the Axis.

David Anderson opposes new GM Joe
Powell in the swiss rounds. Joe's initial baptism of fire appeared
to go smoothly.